Minister of State for Finance James Smith opened the Senateﾒs debate on the Commercial Recreational Watersports Bill on Wednesday, noting that some watercraft operations have been problematic in the past.
The bill passed with the reluctant support of the FNM senators.
“It goes without saying then that the self-policing role of various jet-ski organizations in preserving that delicate balance which now exists would be of paramount importance,” he said.
Minister Smith also reiterated that after much wrangling, watercraft operators can now get insured for up to $2.5 million per claim, and warned those operators to guard this “hard-won victory” carefully.
He lauded supplemental legislation Transport Minister Glenys Hanna-Martin intends to bring that would require riders to act responsibly and indemnify the owners against legal penalties for a userﾒs failure to comply with an operatorﾒs instruction.
“While it is true that a safe visitor experience has tended to rest predominantly with the owner or operator of a craft, it is also true that a responsible, educated user stands a far better chance of having a safe, enjoyable ride, than the individual who has no knowledge of the craftﾒs potential, and who may be intent on showing off or ﾑhot doggingﾒ when (he) is riding the equipment,” Minister Smith said.
Continuing the Christie administrationﾒs insistence that it is a consultative government, the minister explained that the Ministries of Tourism and Works, the police and defence forces, BASRA, the Bahamas Hotel Association and insurance companies were all part of the drafting of the new legislation.
Of particular note in the bill, Minister Smith noted the term “authorized officer” expands the enforcement capabilities of the government, as it allows police and defence force officers as well as officers from the Port departments to act as agents in the administration of the act, either in the arrest of persons or detention of the craft.
He also singled out the provision for any person who has an objection to the grant of a license to a prospective operator to be given a hearing and state the reason for their objection.
Minister Smith referred to the Gallagher case, in which an out-of-control banana-boat landed on two-year-old Peter Gallagher, who was asleep on the beach. The incident resulted in the childﾒs death ﾖ something Minister Smith called a “major reputational issue” for the government of the Bahamas.
“So the bill is not only appropriate, but it is timely, coming on the back of such a tragedy,” he said.
Government Senator Caleb Outten seconded the bill and said he was speaking in the interests of the jet ski operators. Mr. Outten laid into the local insurance sector for what he termed “lopsided” insurance coverage, under which the jet ski operators purchased a little over $600 liability insurance that covers riders only up to $250,000.
It is this situation that Minister Smith was speaking of when he announced the $2.5 million insurance for watercraft operators. Apparently, Mr. Outten was unaware of the new insurance available for operators.
According to Mr. Outten, his investigations revealed that jet-ski operators are “carried hard” by regulators to ensure that every detail is attended to, without consideration being given to the plight and rights of those operators.
Mr. Outten said the replacement of a wrecked jet-ski is not covered, and no coverage exists for the jet-ski operator if he or she was injured in an accident.
“Our insurance companies have been allowed to get away with covering only guests or riders, with no consideration for the Bahamian jet-ski operators, no concern,” he said.
“We recognize that this is a high risk area, but it is unfair to not even give the operators an opportunity to insure their livelihood.”
Opposition Leader in the Senate Tommy Turnquest giving the Christie government a tongue-lashing during his response to the bill, excoriating the administration for what the FNM has continued to term a “piecemeal” approach to the governmentﾒs legislative agenda.
Senator Turnquest acknowledged that the opposition would ultimately support the five-part Commercial Recreational Watercraft Bill, but demanded that the government take a comprehensive approach to legislating.
He urged the government to consider consolidating the many pieces of legislation governing waterways and vessels in the Bahamas ﾖ he mentioned a Boat Act, a Shipping, Port Authority, Merchant Shipping and other Acts.
“What the government needs to do is conduct an in-depth review of existing legislation with a view to consolidating them into no more than two acts, one for national shipping and one for international shipping, or sea transportation,” he said.
“And get rid of the myriad of maritime legislation that can only be conflicting and overlapping in some areas due to the very nature of the current approach.”
Senator Turnquest derided the actions of Minister of Transport Glenys Hanna-Martin when she foreshadowed the introduction of the Personal Recreational Watercraft Act to come.
He said the government must surely see the wisdom of consolidating the two pieces of legislation governing recreational watercraft, as they would largely be the same.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
